Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 76 - To Scare a Doctor

"So, can I ask you something?" Lyssa started hesitantly as they started to pick up their picnic items. Night was starting to fall, and while she loved their room, she didn't want to fall asleep out in the open with wet hair and clothes.

The Doctor hummed in affirmation.

"How come Ten never noticed I didn't have my necklace? When I first got here, to this universe, I mean, before I got my necklace, you always looked so sad whenever you realized I didn't have it on. Which I can sort of understand now, since I wear it all the time. Me not having it means I don't hardly know you.  So then, how come he never picked up on it? You're usually so observant."

The Doctor leaned back on his elbows with a sigh, staring up at the red sky with a thoughtful expression. "I mean, you're right about part of it. Your necklace usually gives me a hint about where you've been and how long you've been here. You having the blue charm, for example, means that you consider me your best friend by this point, and that I consider you mine. I also know most of the adventures you've gone on before you got your charm, and, controversially, also what adventures you have not gone on yet." 

"Wait." Lyssa sat up straighter, her wet hair laying limply on her back. "Does that mean that I'm going to get another charm?" She peered at the Doctor closely. "'Cause if you can roughly track me by my necklace, then that means that right now you can only track me up to about seven or eight months, and I've been here for over a year already."

The Doctor winked at her. "Spoilers."

She sat back with a pout, crossing her arms. "Should've known," she grumbled. 

"No, but on a more serious note," the Doctor continued, "you're right. Ten should have picked up on it. It's one of the methods I use to avoid spoilers, among other things." He sighed heavily. "I should have picked up on it immediately, but my shields were already weak from the hotel. Now that the Time Lords are gone, I'm not as used to having to maintain full shields, so I was rusty, and out of practice. I didn't pick up on it until it was too late."

"Pick up on what?" Lyssa asked gently, lowering her arms.

"A planet-wide psychic field. A bit like a perception filter, and a lot like what the hotel had, actually. Keeps you from noticing anything too off unless you're really focused- say, like a family member going missing, or acting oddly and slightly homicidal. In this case, it kept Ten from noticing your necklace. It's also why we all got headaches whenever we looked at the clones. Our brains noticed the discrepancies and tried to point them out to us, but the psychic field kept us from noticing them until they became too large to ignore."

"But he knew it wasn't safe on the planet though," Lyssa pointed out, puzzled. "When Donna was on the ship and he was looking for her, he said it wasn't safe here."

"Well, that could have been because he saw the TARDIS and knew it wasn't his. Things usually go sideways when there's more than one of us in the same area." He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. "Or maybe his shields were better maintained, and he was able to pick up on it. And then once he found us, he was too distracted focusing on us to remember it." He shrugged. "It's hard to say. His memories were wiped once he returned to the proper timeline, so I only remember my version of events as they happened to me."

"Right useless you are," Lyssa teased him, nudging him with her elbow.

He snorted, but didn't deign to make a comment, obviously too crushed by her devastating blow. Instead, he started to pick up and fold their blanket, setting them inside the basket once he was done.

Lyssa bent over to pick up their untouched hot chocolate, which had been completely forgotten about in the midst of their talk and subsequent water fights (which she'd only lost because he'd cheated). The thermoses were still just as hot as when she had poured them, despite several hours having passed since then.